Health & Safety

COVID-19 Protocol 2021-2022

Cardinal Gibbons is committed to providing safe, in-person instruction for all students.

The COVID-19 protocol we have adopted is guided by the Diocese and public health agencies including the Centers for Disease Control, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, and the Wake County Public Health Department.

We will keep a close eye on the scientific guidance, and we will be keeping the Gibbons community of students, parents, and educators informed on a regular basis.

See the latest COVID-19 case count along with testing details on our COVID-19 reporting dashboard.

VIEW THE COVID-19 DASHBOARD

Masking

Proper indoor masking is required for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors, regardless of vaccination status. Masks will also be required on buses, vans, and other group school transportation.

Masks are optional for outdoor activities.

In consultation with the Diocese, the Board of Directors, and the physicians on the COVID Task Force, Gibbons will consider shifting to a more mask-optional policy if two of the following three metrics are met:

5% or lower COVID test positivity rates in Wake County over a 10-day period
50 or fewer people out of 100,000 having COVID in Wake County over a 14-day period
80% or higher vaccination rate among staff and students.
Share Your COVID-19 Vaccination Status →

Enhanced Health & Safety Measures

Community Expectations

Reporting Positive Cases

If a student, or a member of the student’s household, is confirmed positive for COVID-19, we ask that the family inform the school immediately. Please email a copy of your lab results to School Nurse Angie Shell at nurse@cghsnc.org.

Our school nurse will work families on an individual basis to determine whether quarantine is needed if a family member contracts the virus. This decision will be based on guidance from the Health Department and the family doctor.

A notification letter will be sent to the impacted Gibbons community followed by a more specific communication to the families of students who were potentially in close contact with the infected community member. The privacy of the infected individual will not be violated.

Quarantine Guidelines

We will follow the quarantine guidelines set by the CDC and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services as outlined in the SafeSchools Toolkit.

According to the CDC, students should quarantine if you have been in close contact (within 6 feet of someone for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period) with someone who has COVID-19, unless you have been fully vaccinated.

In a classroom setting, the close contact definition excludes students who were within 3 to 6 feet of an infected student if both the infected student and the exposed student(s) correctly and consistently wore well-fitting masks the entire time.

Positive Cases

I think or know I had COVID-19, and I had symptoms

You can be around others after:

10 days since symptoms first appeared and
24 hours with no fever without the use of fever-reducing medications and
Other symptoms of COVID-19 are improving*

*Loss of taste and smell may persist for weeks or months after recovery and need not delay the end of isolation.

Note that these recommendations do not apply to people with severe COVID-19 or with weakened immune systems (immunocompromised).

I tested positive for COVID-19 but had no symptoms.

If you continue to have no symptoms, you can be with others after 10 days have passed since you had a positive viral test for COVID-19.

Fully Vaccinated Students & Staff Exposure

Students who are fully vaccinated do NOT need to quarantine after contact with someone who had COVID-19 unless they have symptoms.

Get tested 3-5 days after their exposure, even if they don’t have symptoms.
Wear a mask indoors in public for 14 days following exposure or until their test result is negative.

Unvaccinated Students & Staff EXPOSURE

Stay home for 14 days after your last contact with a person who has COVID-19.
Watch for fever (100.4◦F), cough, shortness of breath, or other symptoms of COVID-19.
If possible, stay away from people you live with, especially people who are at higher risk for getting very sick from COVID-19.

You may be able to shorten your quarantine

Your local public health authorities make the final decisions about how long quarantine should last, based on local conditions and needs. Follow the recommendations of your local public health department if you need to quarantine. Options they will consider include stopping quarantine

After day 10 without testing
After day 7 after receiving a negative test result (test must occur on day 5 or later)

Attendance

Student Absence is when a student is unable to come to campus due to illness, COVID-19 required quarantine, family emergency, or other parent or school-approved reason.* The following protocols are designed to address illness including but NOT limited to COVID-19 and the protocols for quarantine and testing. This protocol also applies when a student is unable to attend class remotely when the school campus is closed and the school day is designated as a Remote Learning Day

When a student is absent for an extended period of time (1 week or more), it is recommended that the parent, student, counselor, teachers, and advisor work in partnership with the student to ensure he/she has the necessary tools and resources to either stay on track during the extended absence OR have a plan for make-up assignments and testing upon return to school.

Parent/Legal Guardian

Contact the school:
- Whenever a student is absent (on-campus or remote learning), a parent or legal guardian must contact attendance@cghsnc.org and communicate the reason for absence and when the student will return to campus.
- If a student tests positive for COVID-19 or has been contacted by a medical professional that he or she is a COVID-19 contact, a parent or legal guardian must contact nurse@cghsnc.org. Our school nurse will contact the parent about the student’s return to campus requirements.
Academics:
- Parents should check Schoology. Schoology will provide course information: daily bulletins, missing/upcoming items, calendar of course due dates, and notifications to the student from his/her Educators. Educators will also post information about available office hours.
- Contact Educators for any course where your child is struggling and may need additional support or guidance.

EMAIL ATTENDANCE OFFICE

Student (when the student is able) he/she should:

Check Schoology for each course
Daily Bulletin: What happened in classes that were missed (instruction, required practice and graded assignments, and upcoming responsibilities)
Missing items: submit any assignments completed
Calendar: Check the calendar to note any missed assignments and contact the teacher to schedule a time to make up any missed in-class assessments
Materials: Check both the course materials for posted resources.
Plan to meet with any teacher during his/her office hours upon your return if you have any questions or concerns about missed course/missed graded work.

Classroom Educators will:

Provide daily bulletins/class objectives/ class agenda (or something similar) in Schoology. This information will include topics covered, in-class practice, and required graded assignments.
Post due dates for any upcoming assignments or assessments on Schoology
Post links to any digital resources used for class lessons on Schoology
Indicate available office hours and what process is for a student to meet during those times
Communicate make-up work process in opening communication and post on Schoology
Suggested: reach out to students who are absent for more than 3 class periods in a row to provide any guidance on completing assignments and resources available.

Extended Absence

During an extended absence, students will have access to all the course information through Schoology. Any graded work that can be completed digitally and remotely is accessible through Schoology. Any in-class assessments can be made up when the student returns to school.

Classroom educators are also using the B-Day Schedule Office Hours as a way to connect with students who are at home. When a student is out absent, we recommend contacting all teachers to see if there are any additional resources that would supplement what is on Schoology. Additionally, our educators have available time during Office Hours, before and after school, to connect with students using Zoom. Individualized attention can be very beneficial when a student needs additional support.

*There are other reasons a student may miss class: early release for athletic or school-sponsored extracurricular participation, spiritual retreat or service participation, or other school-approved reasons. Students in one of these scenarios are not considered sick and should complete any assignments on or before the date of absence and determine a plan for any missing work prior to or upon immediate return to school or class.

In order to take part in any extra-curricular activities (athletics, fine arts, driver's ed, etc.), students must attend at least two classes - not including lunch - each day.

Health Policies

Sick Policy

A student should remain at home if any of the following symptoms are present:

Fever within the last 24 hours or a fever that is reduced with medication
Vomiting or diarrhea within the last 24 hours
Sore throat or earache
Unidentified or contagious rash
Chicken Pox or Shingles
Head lice
Chronic cough and congestion
Red, watery eyes that emit a discharge
Thick mucus from the nose

Should a student become ill at school, he/she should see the School Nurse. That student may not return to school until cleared by a physician, have been on prescription medication for 24 hours, or there is an absence of symptoms for 24 hours.

Medications

Cardinal Gibbons High School students may carry their own medications as long as they are in their original container and not shared with others. Students who have medical allergies which require them to carry an Epipen are responsible for safely and responsibly storing the medication along with routinely checking its expiration date. Students with serious medical conditions should contact the School Nurse with specific information.

Injuries

Student Health Records

Meet the Team

Gibbons has a full-time nurse and counselor on staff to care for our students’ physical and mental well-being.

Angie Shell
School Nurse
Contact Angie →

Angie’s office is located inside the Fr. Price Gym inside the Athletic Training Office.

Caroline Costello
School Counselor
Contact Caroline →